NB! Japanese format! Reads Right to left!
I’m pretty pleased how this one turned out 😀 (And I rarely am with my pages).
The first panel is kind of the ‘heart’ of the manga and is designed to serve as a pivotal moment in the story.
…oh yes and some foreshadowing of an antagonist too…
Part 9: New paper, New structure.
Among some of the more unwise moves in my cartooning ‘career’, we I had started drawing I had never really settled on a standard page format. You may or may not have noticed, but way back in the very early Bata Neart pages in Chapter 1, some of the original pages that survived the final cut (from 2005/6) have a very different shape to the later pages. This was mostly down to me not making up my own mind about the format I was using. Mostly I would just use a typical A3 sheet, for Bata Neart pages (and flipped sideways for Back Office) and apply a 1-2 cm ‘gutter’ to the outside of the sheet. But this measurement would change depending on the paper used.
This would come back to bite me hard when I started work on the first Back Office book, which required a huge amount of reformatting before I could print.
Thought this course, Nao introduced me to the standard B5 manga page format, and finally; a stadard I could follow. From the A3 block sheets I usually use, I took the measurements of a standard B5 Manga page and proceeded to ‘make’ some manga paper for me work. This would become my new standard.
Nao’s notes on my plan for this page. If you look carefully you will see the boundary of the manga page.
Nao instilled 2 pages disciplines into me. First, to limit the amount of time I break out of the page boundry (because I love to do that), but also: to avoid drawing into the book-spine.
This should be obvious, but it wasn’t for me. When drawing a page you really need to avoid the middle of your two-page spread, because that is were your paper will sort of ‘sink’ into the middle of the book (your know, the bit where you glue the pages in). If you look at the page I put up there, you’ll notice that I tried to stay clear of the area in the right. In the previous page, I stayed clear of the area in the left for the same reason.
And so now, thanks to Nao, I have this mindset well fused into my mind. So much so, that future Back Office and Bata Neart pages will follow this design standard. (I’ll discuss this a little more in coming pages)
Next week, more of that Skeleton guy, and Manga Inking: How Awesome, How terrifying
Okay, so Aine didn’t exactly push the big red button labeled “Do not push!” I guess it’s more like she accidentally sat on it.
I was wondering if that sigil has some outside significance or if you created for Bata Neart?
@Kessy: Pretty much that. Aine just woke something accidentally while coming to horrible realisation of what has happened to her (i.e. Time Travel)
Twirl pattern is alas fairly generic for ancient Ireland. You’ll find them on many of these patterns on artefacts from long ago. This particular twirl was inspired by the entrance rock at Newgrange.
Newgrange is a pre-historic passage grave complex located in Meath. It’s very ancient and apparently pre-dates the pyramids.
I don’t know yet if I’ll retain this symbol for the Prime-universe Bata Neart ‘Aine’. The next chapter will reveal a lot more about her, but I’m still in the planning phase.
Hmmm, so who’s more dangerous to leave in a room with a big red button of doom? Aine, with a talent for accidentally sitting on it, or Aoife, who’d push it on purpose just to see what it does… Hmmmmm…
Well, if it helps, I like the sigil. The general shape is actually a fairly common motif that shows up in lots of places. A three lobed spiral like that is called a triskelion, and among other things has been adopted by reconstructionist Celtic pagans. It also resembles the Japanese mitsudomoe – you’ve probably seen it painted on the drum heads of those giant drums used in some festivals.
Great work on making the skeleton look uncreepy everywhere but in the last panel. 🙂 They’re a pain to work with and put expressions upon.
Thank you Jen 😀
Too true, skeltons are a figgin’ pain to work with. It took me huge amount of re-tries to get most shots of the skull right. It was frustrating as hell 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed the result!